International journal

Speech Genres

ISSN 2311-0759 (Online)
ISSN 2311-0740 (Print)

For citation:

Tyukaeva N. I., Brinev K. I. On methodology of modern genre studies: A functional and pragmatic model as a response to current challenges. Speech Genres, 2026, vol. 21, iss. 2 (50), pp. 130-144. DOI: 10.18500/2311-0740-2026-21-2-50-130-144, EDN: ATQEDI

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Language: 
Russian
Heading: 
General problems of the speech genres theory
Article type: 
Article
UDC: 
81’38’42
DOI: 
10.18500/2311-0740-2026-21-2-50-130-144
EDN: 
ATQEDI

On methodology of modern genre studies: A functional and pragmatic model as a response to current challenges

Autors: 
Tyukaeva Nadezhda Ivanovna, Altai State Pedagogical University
Brinev Konstantin Ivanovich, Hainan University
Abstract: 

The article examines the problem of modern genre studies related to the methodological crisis caused by the discrepancy between classical approaches to the challenges of natural and digital communication. The authors identify a number of key problems: terminological instability (the use of pseudo-terms such as “flirting”, “prayer” as scientific concepts, interdisciplinary eclecticism (different interpretations of the genre in linguistics, literary studies, journalism) and methodological rigidity inherited from the essentialist paradigm. The main thesis of the proposed concept is the need to move from a static model (genre as a formal structural category) to a dynamic one, in which genre is interpreted as a process shaped by social, technological and cognitive contexts. As an alternative, the authors propose an approach of methodological nominalism, rejecting the reification of terms and assuming a functional analysis (searching for an answer to the question: “How does a genre function?” instead of the actual one: “What is a genre?”). The examples show how the traditional criteria of “genre” are losing relevance, giving rise to the concept of “non-genre” – models of texts which do not fit into the classical framework of the theory of speech genres, but are perceived by addressees as genres. The authors propose some ways to overcome the crisis: the development of terminology (the exclusion of colloquial expressions) and the development of glossaries; the integration of methods (corpus analysis, experiment); the creation of an explanatory theory focusing on the causes of genre transformation. In conclusion, the authors substantiate a continuum concept of genre studies, combining data systematization, variability analysis, and predictive modeling. It is emphasized that the progress of the discipline is possible only through the rejection of dogmas and the transition to problem-oriented research that meets the realities of modern natural communication, among other issues connected with the advent of the digital age.

Key words: 
genre of speech
theory of speech genres
speech genre studies
Internet genre
terminology system
scientific term
methodology of genre studies
methodological nominalism
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Received: 
14.01.2026
Accepted: 
03.03.2026
Published: 
01.05.2026